Keepin' if Real in Mobile

My fiancé, Nathanael and I are lonely right now. I just moved to Mobile four months ago and haven’t really made any friends yet. Nathanael has lived here his whole life and the last of his really good friends just moved away. So we’re lonely. It can’t be blamed entirely on a dirth of people or opportunity though. It’s also my fault. At 25 I find myself experiencing…. Friend fatigue? I’m probably too young to just be over new people, but maybe I am. So often, I just don’t find it worth the trouble to have that first exploratory conversation with someone, and take the risk that they’re a totally worthless human being- or worse, that they’re perfectly nice but just a little bit annoying. It’s not easy moving somewhere new. It’s not easy growing old enough to loose that youthful faith in humanity while still being young enough to need friends. It’s not easy doing all of this in a world that is increasingly isolated and alienated.

Nathanael recently dubbed our house the house of the “keepin’ it real” people, in contrast to the “rock and roll house” we’ve observed on the other end of our street and the “crack house” next door. We think that puts us in a category that is not necessarily superiour to others, just difficult to recognize. The keepin’ it real person is non-comodified. That is to say, she does not necessarily adorn herself with the kind of markers found among other subgroups. No particular shoe, hair-cut, car, or smell typifies the keepin’ it real person. (Well, maybe they drive a Honda.) Rockers recognize their kind easily enough. The same goes for hippies, hoochies, yuppies, potheads, cheesedicks, rednecks, and senior citizens. They know where to go to find each other. They probably have fun parties. But where do the “keepin’ it real” people find each other? My first instinct would be to answer ‘The skating rink’ because I think the skating rink is fun. That’s actually not a bad idea. If anyone knows of a bimonthly roller rink party for keepin’ it real people in Mobile, please let me know.

But who are the “keepin’ it real” people you ask? They’re just that, keepin’ it real. If they’re anything like us they do totally reasonable thinks like vote, plant a tomato every once in a while, play pictionary while drinking liquor, listen to good music, make dirty jokes, eat bacon fat. You know- keepin’ it real kind of stuff. Again I ask, where does one find such people in Mobile, or anywhere for that matter? My generation has entered that strange age of embryonic adulthood- too young to be friends with your kids’ friends’ parents; too old to wear band patches on your jacket. You know- dinner party age. I’ve decided through this experience in a new town, that 1) I should embrace my inner nerd and go hang with the grannies at the quilting circle I saw advertised and 2) an important measure of a city’s maturity is the availability of social situations that do not necessarily involve alcohol or nerdiness. It’s enough to make a girl want to go to church, just to meet some people. Until then though, I’ll keep trying the skating rink.